How have department stores fared over the last five years? Patrick McAnally suggests that there has been something of a renaissance, that a newer generation of store has developed alongside the old one. Some of the new ones include Fenwicks and John Lewis at Brent Cross, Debenhams in Stirling...

Dismissal for dishonesty is a particularly difficult problem for employers in distribution. What level of proof is necessary? What is the relation between unfair dismissal proceedings and proceedings for theft or fraud in the criminal courts? What are the essential procedural steps in a...

Everybody is agreed that “theft”, as it is now bluntly called, from stores and shops represents an increasingly horrendous loss each year. But there is scant agreement as to how the losses should be apportioned between customers, staff, and “back‐door”. Howard Sledmere suggests that...

We recently published (July/August) an article on the problems of shop‐lifting which dealt to a large degree with the culpability of the customer. This paper, given by Chris Baker to a recent meeting of the South Eastern branch of the Institute of Grocery Distribution, highlights the problems...

The Leitch Report on Truck Road Assessment was published early in the New Year. It covers a range of topics: traffic forecasting, the overall frame‐work for scheme assessment, cost benefit analysis, the Regional Highway Traffic Model, and other factors. One of the most significant sections in...

It may be great for the consumer, but the stock‐market thinks that the grocery price war is going to be hell for the big supermarket groups that have in recent months joined the fray.

In the first part of our feature on Hornes (Jan/Feb), the authors discussed objectives, and product range policy. In this second part some of the major policy areas are examined in more detail: communications, customer service, and store location. There are a number of policy aspects which...

Mothercare has a good reputation in the UK for operational efficiency, and especially for one of the first and most effective computerised stock control systems. It is also a classic example of a gap in the market being identified and exploited. Now Mothercare has opened up in the United States,...

The imminent demise of the Co‐operative movement has been frequently predicted. Critics point to its failure to hold its market share; Co‐ops took 20% of the food trade in the 1950s, but this had fallen to 11% by the early 1970s. But in recent years the Co‐op has reformed itself. This...

It is too often presumed that marketing research can be no more than a survey of opinion, to be seriously considered only by the larger organisation, usually a manufacturer. Nigel Piercy questions these assumptions, pointing out a number of areas where marketing research can assist the retailer...